This invention relates to a method for decorating the pile side of pile fabrics, the decorating being carried out by printing the nap with a printing paste in accordance with the desired pattern, followed by steaming of the pile fabric. This method is especially intended for making imitation animal skins or hides and may be carried out, for example, with the use of pile fabrics, of which the nap or pile surface may consist, for example, wholly or partly of polyacrylic, modified polyacrylic, and/or poly-as.-dicyanoethylene (glossy or mat), or which may indeed consist of cellulose filaments or fibers, such as cellulose spun filaments or cellulose spun fibers (glossy or mat).
The skin pattern of a number of natural animal skins or hides exhibits, in addition to the typical hue, toning or shading, a relief-type patterning of the skin surface. It is also known that by the stitching together of small animal skins or of pieces of skins to constitute larger strips of skin or hide, relief-like appearing patterns of the surface of the hide may be produced at the seams. No success has yet been achieved when making imitation animal skins, in imitating both the basic shading, and also the associated relief-type appearing pattern in a simple and naturally effective manner.
Attempts have already been made, when making imitation animal skins from pile fabrics by a cutting out or weaving process followed by printing of the pile fabric, to produce the hue or toning of the desired animal skin and also the associated relief formation to suit one another. The reverse process has also been attempted, the pile fabric being first printed and then a treatment producing a relief design and having a relationship to the printed pattern being carried out. In neither of these cases has it been possible, however, to produce imitation animal skins having a real natural effect. Instead, a lack of agreement between the hue or toning and the relief has resulted, in the finished structure, extending over the whole sheet in both the warp and weft directions.
It is the objective of the invention, using known printing techniques, such as roller printing, rotational template printing, flat film printing and the like, to produce imitation animal hides from pile fabrics which shall to a great extent agree with the natural animal skin structure both with regard to the hue or toning, and also with regard to the relief-like structure of the surface.